Inclusion: The Pros and Cons

1. Inclusion: The Pros and Cons By Krinon Line: Oceans 11 Krinon Sisters 2008

2. Introduction to inclusion • Inclusion means when a child with a disability is placed in a regular education classroom--either all day or part of the school day. Inclusion was designed to help integrate children with learning disability and other physical handicaps into a regular education classroom setting. In a typical inclusion class-- two teachers work together--one special education and regular education teacher. The special education teacher modifies the lesson plans of the regular education teacher based on the student’s IEP. Krinon Sisters 2008

3. What the research say? • There is a growing body of research indicating that inclusion is a viable option for students with disabilities. Benefits accrue not only to the students with disabilities, but to non-disabled classmates and teachers as well. However, there is a growing population of teachers who would disagree with the above statement. Krinon Sisters 2008

4. Collaborative Co-Teaching in an inclusive classroom • Planning is very important when setting up the environment for teachers to “cohabitate.” It is also imperative that a positive culture for collaboration is set by the principal, vice and/or assistant principal from the onset of the first collaborative planning session Krinon Sisters 2008

5. Collaborative Pairing • To facilitate success, teachers who can work together must be selected and assigned to form a collaborative pair by the administrators. It is helpful and usually successful if teachers who have attained the same level of proficiency based upon years of experience (either new or veteran )are paired together. Krinon Sisters 2008

6. Instructional Practices • General and special educators collaborate to maintain a balance and assistant students with handicaps in general classrooms for the following results: • 1. To focus on active teaching, direct instruction, and supervised practice to maximize student achievement. • 2. To provide content to students through student-teacher interactions (e.g., through brief presentations followed by recitation of application opportunities) rather than relying on curricular materials to convey information. Krinon Sisters 2008

7. Instructional Practices continues…. • 3. To focus teacher talk on academic rather than procedural or managerial matters; ask questions and give feedback rather than lecture extensively--students are engaged. • 4. To maximize student success by having students move in small steps through new objectives, practice new learning to mastery level, integrate new learning with old, and generalize learning to applied situations. This means a constant check of student background knowledge. Krinon Sisters 2008

8. Instructional Practices: Building on Strengths • To build on student’s existing knowledge. • 5. To minimize student errors by choosing mistakes students can handle without frustration, explaining tasks clearly before seatwork begins, and monitoring performance to provide immediate help and corrective feedback when needed • 6. To promote student success by matching instructional materials to skill levels, providing materials that are somewhat new and challenging but relatively easy for students to assimilate. Krinon Sisters 2008

9. Instructional Practices continues…. • 7. To utilize small groups for direct instruction teaching to increase learning for students of varying ability. • 8. To structure presentation of instruction to improve student information processing (e.g., focus on clear, organized presentation of essential and meaningful information, with ample repetition and review.) This means presenting information in small sequential steps. Krinon Sisters 2008

10. Instructional Practices continues…. • 9. To balance teacher control with varying degrees of student freedom according to the complexities of the learning objectives and the student’s ability. • 10. To develop critical thinking skills, either by (a)direct teaching of teacher-developed units and/or commercial program, or (b) emphasis on thinking as a regular component of ongoing instruction. (Emphasis on the metacognition) The above instructional practices are essential to support children with disabilities in inclusion classrooms. The students benefit in the following ways: Krinon Sisters 2008

11. Benefits of Students with Disabilities Academic gains • Students placed in integrated classrooms attain more of the objectives outlined in their Individualized Education Program (IEP) than do segregated students • Students with disabilities who are involved in integrated classrooms made greater overall gains in academics and improved self-concepts than students who were not integrated. Data suggests that increased time spent in general education classrooms directly corresponds to increased gains. Krinon Sisters 2008

12. Social Gains • Specific gains for integrated students included improved ability to manage their own behavior in social situations, to accept assistance from others, and to cope with negative social circumstances. • Students based in a regular classroom are more likely to be perceived as a member of the school community and be given a chance to develop social relationships with non-disabled students spontaneously and naturally. Krinon Sisters 2008

13. What critics have to say about the inclusion? • Many critics say and believe that inclusion is not a viable solution to integrating disability students into a regular education classroom. They feel that the students with disabilities are not ready and that teachers have to extend themselves more--writing additional lesson plans to modify the IEP services. • Critics also believe that integrating children into regular education setting is not going to change that child any faster and that the children even feel more helpless and alone. Krinon Sisters 2008

14. What teachers have to say? • Some teachers sometimes dislike the idea of co-teaching with an additional person in the classroom. He or she feels like their space has been invaded and others feel they don’t get along. There are many who feel that inclusion classrooms should be a slow process that should be tested and guidelines should be outlined as to what roles each participant should play. Furthermore, that more data should be collected on successful inclusion programs as models. Krinon Sisters 2008

15. Inclusion has its Pros and Cons • Finally, inclusion has its pros and cons but the real testimony comes in observing the children in their classroom settings. Children with disabilities who no longer are placed in subbasement classrooms near the boiler rooms. They are not placed in areas where one has to travel throughout the school to get to. Children with disabilities seem more productive and non-disability children are more tolerant of their classmates with disabilities. • Teachers of both regular and special education are forced to collaborate and share prospective about children. Parents of both groups of children have to to partnership for change and advocate for a better future. No one said that inclusion would be easy and over time we will continue to address the pros and cons of inclusion and weigh our options. Krinon Sisters 2008